Page 64 of Soulmate of the Mafia King
The jet taxied forward and took to the air. Something taut in my chest released, and I felt free.
“Nothing in the world.”
CHAPTER 48
TOMMASO
After Killian and Sera left, I expected we’d say a few goodbyes and head out. I’d sort of planned on it, actually. But instead, Paige sat down at the head table with Lauren and a couple of the bridesmaids. The bar closed, and the band left, but someone started playing music from a speaker, and champagne appeared from somewhere. The reception quickly started turning into an after-party.
I paced back and forth on the edge of the dance floor and tried not to be a dick. Paige was smiling. She was clearly having a great time, and whatever she was saying made her little audience crack up. But fuck, it wasn’t that unfair to expect a party to end when it ended instead of dribbling into another party, was it? I checked my watch for the umpteenth time and looked at her again.
She caught my gaze. The smile on her face evaporated. Fuck. She said something to the people around her, then strode through the remains of the reception over to me.
“What’s your deal?” she demanded.
I swallowed and plastered a smile on my face. Nerves vibrated through my veins. “We have a plane to catch.”
Paige paused, then burst into laughter. “I thought I was the one drinking. Killian and Sera are flying out tonight, not us.”
I checked my watch again. The pilot expected us in fifteen minutes. He was my pilot, so he’d wait, but I wanted to keep on good terms with him.
“It’s not just them, actually.”
She blinked. “You’re serious.”
“And you’re drunk.” I smiled as she swayed a little. “Come on. Even private planes don’t wait forever, and I doubt getting drunker will improve the flight.”
“I…I have to say goodbye, and—” She glanced around. “I mean, where are we going?”
I took a deep breath and steeled myself. “It’s a surprise. And you can text them from the car.” I tried to take her hand.
She pulled back. “You know I don’t like surprises. I don’t want to text people. Why won’t you tell me what’s going on?”
“Because,” I wrapped an arm around her waist, “you’re stubborn, and controlling, and I need you to relax.”
“Oh great.” She tried to pull out of my hold again, but I had a better grip this time. “Insults. That makes me really likely to do whatever the hell it is you want.”
I winced. Obviously I was blowing this, and it was the most important night of my life. I just needed to fucking think for once.
“Paige.” I turned and faced her, staring into her dark eyes. “I love you. I want to do something special for you. I’ll get on my knees right here and beg if you want me to, but please, just trust me.”
She looked at me for a long moment, still swaying. “I do trust you.”
A brilliant grin spread across my face. “Fantastic. Wonderful. Then let’s go.”
She waved over her shoulder but let me escort her out of the party and into the car I’d hired. The whole drive to the airstrip—a different one than Sera and Killian’s, just to avoid awkwardness—she stared out the window.
My heart hammered. I tapped my chest pocket when I was sure she wasn’t looking. Still there. When she leaned against me during the dance earlier, I was so panicked she’d find it that I’d almost transferred it to my pants pocket, but there was no way she wouldn’t notice the huge bulge there.
The whole night felt designed to torture me. From the first moment she stepped out in the bridesmaid’s dress, a blue sheath that hugged her every curve, I’d felt insane. I’d barely made it through the reception. Her drunken wobbling kept her pressed to my side more often than not, and my whole body ached with the tension of not grabbing her and kissing her and telling her everything. But as much as she sometimes hated it, as much as she threw a fit, Paige deserved something special. Especially after everything she’d been through.
But the bouquet? The way she’d complained about everybody thinking she’d get married next? It was enough to give a guy a hernia.
We pulled up to the airstrip, and I started to get out of the car. Paige didn’t move. My heart skipped a beat.
“Paige?” I touched her shoulder.
She jumped. “Huh? What?”
